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Immigration: what is the future of free movement?

Podcast: listen to the debate from the Battle of Ideas 2016.

Immigration was a key issue during Britain’s EU referendum. The success of the Leave campaign owed much to the belief that the UK has lost control over its borders. Many British citizens are resentful that their communities have undergone dramatic changes as a result of immigration policies about which they were not consulted. At the same time, there are humane, economic and political arguments for welcoming migrants. So why do we have borders at all? If the EU can manage with porous internal borders, why can’t the whole world? Do open borders really threaten the integrity of a democratic nation state?